science

Television systems before 1940

Television systems before 1940 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Television systems before 1940 rather than just read about it. In short: A number of experimental and broadcast pre World War II television systems were tested. The first ones were mechanical based (mechanical television) and of very low resolution, sometimes with no sound.

Key takeaways

Television systems before 1940 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Television systems before 1940 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Television systems before 1940 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A number of experimental and broadcast pre World War II television systems were tested. The first ones were mechanical based (mechanical television) and of very low resolution, sometimes with no sound. Later TV systems were electronic (electronic television). For a list of mechanical system tests and development, see mechanical television. For a station list see Prewar television stations

France France 1930 (mechanical): 30 lines, 12.5 frame/s France 1932 (mechanical): 60 lines, 12.5 frame/s, 3:7 vertical aspect ratio, vertical scanning ~35×60 pixels per frame, sound, live images France 1935-1936 (electronic): 180 lines France 1937-1939 (electronic): 455 lines, developed by Rene Barthelemy France 1943-1956 (electronic): 441 lines

Germany Doberitz 1932 (mechanical): 48 lines, 25 frame/s, 4:3 horizontal aspect ratio, ~64×48 pixels per frame, sound, talking movies Berlin R.P.Z. 1932 (mechanical): 60 lines, 25 frame/s, 4:3 horizontal aspect ratio, ~83×60 pixels per frame, test movies and live images Germany 1932: 90 lines Germany 1935: 180 lines Germany 1936: 375 lines Germany 1937: 441 lines, 25 frame/s, line frequency 11,025 Hz. Vision 46.0 MHz Sound 43.2 MHz. Germany 1940: 1,000 lines signal projection, no glass screen but projection screen (successful experiments in Reichspost laboratories, but no mass production, note that in Germany public telegraphy, telephone, and radio services were subject to the Reichspostministerium since the early 20th century, and TV was regarded a postal issue as well until the 1980s)

Netherlands Netherlands 1930s: 441 lines, 25 frame/s, line frequency 11,025 Hz Late 1940s: 567 lines

Poland Warsaw 1937 (mechanical): 120 lines, test movies and live images from a studio Electronic TV (343 lines) was under development and was publicly demonstrated during the Radio Exhibition in Warsaw in August 1939, regular operations planned to start at the beginning of 1940, work stopped because of the outbreak of World War II.

Switzerland Switzerland 1932 (mechanical): 30 lines, 16.6 frame/s, 4:3 horizontal aspect ratio, ~40×30 pixels per frame, test movies and live images

Italy During the 1930s there were also experimental transmissions from the Vatican - but further details are unknown. Later Arturo Castellani emerges as the main figure being early regular broadcasts.

Italy 1932 (mechanical): 60 lines, 20 frame/s, 4:3 horizontal aspect ratio, ~45x60 pixels per frame, test movies and live images Italy 1937 (electronic): 375 lines, 25 frame/s, 4:3 horizontal aspect ratio, daily from Rome, between 6pm and 9.30pm on 6.9 meters with a power of 2 kW Italy 1939 (electronic): 441 lines, 25 frame/s, 4:3 horizontal aspect ratio, regular service from Rome and Milan. 2 kW transmission power on VHF 45 MHz

Mechanical England 1926 (Baird mechanical): 30 lines, 5 frame/s, black-and-white experimental transmissions England 1928 (Baird mechanical): 30 lines, 5 frame/s, first experimental colour TV transmissions London 1929 (Baird mechanical): 30 lines, 12.5 frame/s, 3:7 vertical aspect ratio, vertical scanning, ~70×30 pixels per frame, sound (silent until 1930), live TV from studio, used experimentally from September 1929 to September 1935 England 1936 (Baird): 240 lines, 25 frame/s, line frequency 6000 Hz, used from November 1936 to February 1937

Electronic UK (1936, EMI): 405 lines / 50 Hz. Used by the BBC Alexandra Palace television station initially from November 1936 to 1939 and then 1946 to 1985 (interruption due to Second World War). The EMI 405 lines system was the first to have an ITU System Letter Designation, and is known as System A. As the EMI system predates PAL, there is no PAL designator in the ITU television system table.

USSR 1932 (mechanical): 30 lines, 12.5 frame/s, 4:3 horizontal aspect ratio, ~40x30 pixels per frame, test movies and live images Leningrad (St. Petersburg), 1935 (electronic): 180 lines, 25 frame/s with progressive scanning Leningrad (St. Petersburg), 1937 (electronic): 240 lines, 25 frame/s with progressive scanning Moscow, 1938 (electronic): 343 lines, 25 frame/s, 4:3 horizontal aspect ratio (RCA provided broadcast equipment and documentation for TV sets)

USA USA 1933: 240 lines USA 1936: 343 lines; limited public demonstrations in New York City (RCA) and Philadelphia (Philco). Field tests in Los Angeles used various line systems, but adopted RCA's 441 lines system by 1938. USA 1938-9: First TV receivers sold on a very limited basis, mostly in New York. Manufacturers included RCA, General Electric, DuMont, and Andrea. USA 1937-1941: 441 lines @ 30 fps (RCA) and 605 lines (Proposed by Philco). USA 1941-1945: 375 lines @ 60 fps field sequential color, tested by CBS in New York.

See also Timeline of the BBC History of television Timeline of the introduction of television in countries Timeline of the introduction of colour television in countries Geographical usage of television Oldest radio station Prewar television stations List of experimental television stations Narrow-bandwidth television Oldest television station Early television stations

Individual television stations WRGB WNBC-TV WCBS-TV KCBS-TV BBC/BBC Television Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow

Broadcast television systems 405-line television system 576-lines 625-lines 819-line television system NTSC PAL SECAM

Related topics in television systems Mechanical television 180-line television system 375-line television system 441-line television system Narrow-bandwidth television Display resolution

References

External links (in German) Rolf Wigand: Technische Beschreibung des E 1 (Zeitgenössischer Artikel in „Radio-Mentor", pdf 295 kB) (in German) Eckhard Etzold: Ausführliche Webseite mit vielen Fotos sowie Schaltbild des E 1

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Television systems before 1940

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Television systems before 1940 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Television systems before 1940 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Television systems before 1940 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Television systems before 1940

In research: Television systems before 1940 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Television systems before 1940 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Television systems before 1940 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics History of television, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Television systems before 1940 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Television systems before 1940 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Television systems before 1940 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Television systems before 1940 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Television systems before 1940 in simple terms?

Why does Television systems before 1940 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Television systems before 1940?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Television systems before 1940.